Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.
Dundubia spiculata is a cicada found in China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia.
Photo by Michel Chantraine:
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Dundubia
Species: Dundubia spiculata Noualhier, 1896
Dundubia rufivena rufivena Walker, 1850 is a cicada from the island of Borneo (Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei).
Dundubia rufivena rufivena was also once known as Dundubia mellea.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Dundubia
Species: Dundubia rufivena rufivena Walker, 1850
Description of “Dundubia mellea, n. sp. ? or D. rufivena, var. ?” specimens from A Monograph of Oriental Cicadas:
[male] Head, pronotum and mesonotum brownish-ochraceous, ocelli pale ochraceous, eyes pale castaneous; front with some obscure black lateral striae; mesonotum with two short faint central obconical spots, and a larger obconical spot on each lateral area; base of cruciform elevation dark castaneous; abdomen above and beneath and the opercula golden-yellow, margins of the opercula more or less shaded with black; head beneath, sternum and legs dull ochraceous, tibiae and tarsi pale castaneous.
Tegmina and wings pale hyaline, the first with the costal membrane and basal portion of the venation bright ochraceous, remaining venation darker; wings with the venation ochraceous, in some portions, infuscated.
The rostrum extends to about the intermediate coxae; the opercula are somewhat short, concave on each side near base and rounded at apices, which about reach the base of the fifth abdominal segment; anterior femora and posterior tibiae spined.
Meimuna tripurasura (Distant, 1881) is a cicada found in India.
Meimuna tripurasura was formerly known as Cosmopsaltria tripurasura.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Meimuna
Species: Meimuna tripurasura (Distant, 1881)
[Male] Head pronotum and mesonotum ochraceous. Head: front with a triangular black spot near base and transverse black striae. which do not meet in the centre; vertex with two large oblique and irregular black fasciae. on disk, and a large irregular black spot on inner margin of eyes. Pronotum with two central longitudinal black fasciae, and three oblique black striae on each side the outer one submarginal and somewhat rounded. Mesonotum with a large central clavate spot, of which the apex terminates on anterior margin, bordered on each side by a subconical spot, followed by a small triangular one and a large submarginal fascia, black. Abdomen dull sanguineous, with a series of discal segmental black fasciae (they are much larger in some specimens and subconfluent). and a lateral segmental row of irregular spots. Body beneath with the sternum ochraceous, covered with greyish pubescence.
Abdomen dull sanguineous; opercula pale sanguineous; legs ochraceous.
Tegmina and wings pale hyaline.
Front very prominent and convex; head, including eyes, narrower than base of pronotum, subequal to mesonotum in width. Opercula subtriangular. well separated at base, gradually becoming more divergent, and narrowing to apex, which is obtuse, and reaches the fourth abdominal segment. Anterior femora armed with three spines; two moderately large and ochraceous, apical one small and black. Posterior tibiae with three black spines on inner side near apex, and two smaller and wider apart on outer margin.
Long. excl. tegm. [male] , 33 millim. Exp. tegm. 85 millim.
Champaka meyeri (Distant, 1883) is a cicada found in Indonesia.
Champaka meyeri was formerly known as Cosmopsaltria majuscula.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Champaka
Species: Champaka meyeri (Distant, 1883)
Species (Cosmopsaltria majuscula) description from A Monograph of Oriental Cicadas by W.L. Distant:
Body above warm-ochraceous. Head with the front, — excepting base and apex, — the area of the ocelli, and a larger spot on inner margin of eyes, dark castaneous; eyes ochraceous, with their inner area olivaceous. Pronotum with a broad central longitudinal castaneous fascia and a small castaneous spot near anterior lateral margin. Mesonotum with five blackish fasciae, the central one very slender and joining a triangular fascia in front of basal cruciform elevation, on each side of the central fascia is a short and broader one, and the lateral fasciae are long, broad and slightly curved. Abdomen above ochraceous. Body beneath ochraceous; the face blackish, with a central ochraceous spot near anterior margin, and a black marginal spot between eyes and face; legs pale castaneous, the inner margins of anterior femora blackish, anterior and intermediate tibiae and tarsi somewhat darker castaneous, the posterior tarsi ochraceous.
Tegmina and wings pale hyaline, the venation ochraceous, but becoming fuscous towards apical areas; the tegmina with the costal margin fuscous beyond base of upper ulnar area, and the transverse veins at bases of second and third apical areas infuscated.
The body is long and broad; the rostrum reaches the posterior coxae; the opercula are slender and placed widely apart, concave on each side beyond base, but very slightly so outwardly, the apices rounded and reaching the fourth abdominal segment.
Orientopsaltria duarum (Walker, 1857) is a cicada found in the Malayan Archipelago.
Orientopsaltria duarum was formerly known as Cosmopsaltria lauta.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Orientopsaltriina
Genus: Orientopsaltria
Species: Orientopsaltria duarum (Walker, 1857)
Species description from A Monograph of Oriental Cicadas by W.L. Distant:
Head and thorax above ochraceous, with the following black markings: — Head with a central fascia to front, vertex with a central double fascia and a sinuated fascia behind each eye; pronotum with a central double fascia united at base, a large sublateral spot on each side, and a spot beneath on basal margin; mesonotum with a central longitudinal fascia, on each side of which is a short and somewhat oblique fascia, followed by a small spot on anterior margin and a broad, sublateral, irregular fascia, and a spot in front of each anterior angle of the basal cruciform elevation. Abdomen purplish red, the posterior segmental margins ochraceous, excepting those near apes, which are piceous, and with a central discal piceous spot near base. Head beneath with the anterior margin black and a central piceous spot near apex of face. Opercula ochraceous, with apices and inner margins broadly black; apex of abdomen beneath black.
Tegmina and wings pale hyaline, the venation more or less fuscous ; tegmina with the costal membrane castaneous, the transverse veins at the bases of the second and third apical areas infuscated.
The face is convex, with a central longitudinal incision, which neither reaches base nor apex. The opercula are long and broad, concavely sinuated on their outer margins near base, and with their apices obtusely rounded and about reaching the apical abdominal segment. Rostrum mutilated.Long. excl. tegm. 35 millim. Exp. tegm. 10-2 millim
Lethama locusta (Walker, 1850) is a cicada found in India.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Lethama
Species: Lethama locusta (Walker, 1850)
Lethama genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1914:
Characters – lead horizontal, As long as space between eyes, not anteriorly deflected, front very prominent, margins of front and ver/ex obliquely sub-continuous; pronotum as long as mesonotum, its lateral margins oblique, sinuate, obscurely dentate; abdomen considerably longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana imperfectly covered, the flaps shorter and narrower than the tympanal cavities; rostrum about reaching the posterior coxae; anterior femora armed beneath with two or three strong spines; opercula extending to more than half the length of the abdomen, sinuate, wide apart and on the lateral abdominal areas; tegmina broad, their greatest breadth more than one-third of their length, apical areas eight, basal cell much longer than broad.
Cosmopsaltria gestroei (Distant, 1905) is a cicada found in Paupa New Guinea.
Names… Sawda gestroi (in the image below) is an incorrect spelling of Sawda gestroei. The Sawda Distant, 1905 genus was merged into Cosmopsaltria Stål, 1866, which leaves us with the name Cosmopsaltria gestroei.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cosmopsaltriini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Cosmopsaltria
Species: Cosmopsaltria gestroei (Distant, 1905)
Have some fun comparing Distant’s description of the Sawda genus:
Characters. — Head (including eyes) about two thirds the breadth of base of mesonotum, and very slightly longer than breadth between eyes, its lateral margins discontinuous, the anterior margins of vertex being almost at right angles to front; mesonotum only slightly longer than pronotum; abdomen short, about as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana covered,
To the Cosmopsaltria genus descriptions by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:
Characters. — Body moderately long and robust, head as long as breadth between eyes, and including eyes as wide as base of mesonotum, with the front not twice as broad at base as anterior margins of the lobes of vertex, lateral margins obliquely continuous to front or very slightly sinuate; pronotum about as long as head, its lateral margins scarcely ampliated, but distinctly toothed or angulated; mesonotum slightly longer than pronotum ; abdomen short, about as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana covered; opercula in male broad, either just or longly passing middle of abdomen, well separated and not overlapping, more or less concavely sinuate on each side at basal areas, their apices rounded or obliquely truncate; rostrum reaching, sometimes passing, the posterior coxae; tegmina and wings hyaline; greatest breadth of tegmina about a third of length, venation normal, basal cell much longer than broad.
Champaka nigra (Distant, 1888) is found in the Philipines.
Back in 1913 Platylomia albomaculata and Platylomia nigra were regarded as two different species. (FYI, albomaculata means white spotted in Latin, and nigra means black or dark also in Latin.) Somewhere along the line it was determined that they’re the same species, and belong to the Champaka Distant, 1905 genus, thus Champaka nigra.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Champaka
Species: Champaka nigra (Distant, 1888)
The image says Platylomia albomaculata. but the new name of this cicada is Champaka nigra.
Champaka genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:
Characters. — Head (including eyes) considerably broader than base of mesonotum, its length about equal to breadth between eyes, lateral margins of front and vertex almost obliquely in line; pronotum about as long as head, its lateral margins armed with a distinct medial spine ; mesonotum moderately tumid ; abdomen considerably longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation ; tympana covered, tympanal coverings broader than long; opercula short. just reaching basal abdominal segment, laterally oblique and thus exposing the marginal areas of the cavities rostrum reaching the posterior coxae; anterior femora strongly spined beneath ; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first considerably longer than the body and with its greatest breadth considerably less than a third of its length; apical areas eight; basal cell longer than broad.
Meimuna gamameda (Distant, 1902) is a cicada found in Sri Lanka.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Meimuna
Species: Meimuna gamameda (Distant, 1902)
Meimuna genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:
Characters. — Head (including eyes) about as broad as base of mesonotum, shorter than breadth between eyes, lateral margins obliquely continuous to face or very slightly sinuate; pronotum distinctly shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins distinctly and generally acutely toothed before middle; abdomen considerably longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana covered, tympanal flaps about as long as broad; rostrum reaching the posterior coxae; opercula obliquely divergent, sometimes very short; tegmina and wings hyaline.
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Orientopsaltria alticola (Distant, 1905) is a cicada found on Borneo (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia).
Its name changed from Cosmopsaltria alticola to Orientopsaltria alticola when it was moved from the Cosmopsaltria Stål, 1866 genus into the Orientopsaltria Kato, 1944 genus.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Orientopsaltriina
Genus: Orientopsaltria
Species: Orientopsaltria alticola (Distant, 1905)
The image says Cosmopsaltria alticola, but the newest name for this cicada is Orientopsaltria alticola.